Archos to unveil three Android smartphones at Mobile World Congress

Archos, perhaps best known for producing budget-minded music players and tablets, is reportedly preparing to enter the lucrative smartphone market. The French consumer electronics maker will launch three Android handsets in the coming months according to specifications that first appeared on Russian tech site Hi-Tech.

The trio of smartphones will be introduced at Mobile World Congress next week. Rumored to be in attendance is the Archos 35 Carbon which carries a 3.5-inch display operating at a resolution of 320 x 480. This phone will be powered by a 1GHz processor, 512MB of system RAM and 512MB of internal memory. A microSD card slot will allow for expansion. The device will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 1,500 mAh battery and be limited to 3G connectivity. Expect to pay roughly $120 when this phone hits retailers in April.

The Archos 48 Platinum will include a 4.8-inch IPS display operating at 1,280 x 800, a 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor, 3G and FM radios, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and GPS. The handset will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box and should be available starting in May for around $333.

Last but not least is the Archos 52 Titanium. This handset will have a 5.2-inch display with a questionable 800 x 480 resolution. Inside is a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of flash storage. A 5-megapixel camera on the rear, 2,200 mAh battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich round out the package. It should be available in April as well but pricing remains unknown as of writing.